Educational Science

Giant Pandas: Facts About the Charismatic Black and White Bears

Giant pandas are bears that are native to China, where they are considered a national treasure. Despite their exalted status, giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) populations are vulnerable: fewer than 1,900 live in the wild, according to the Smithsonian National Zoo. About 300 live in zoos around the world. Size, habitat...

DNA Analysis Reveals Why 'Water Bears' Are the World's Toughest Animals

Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are less than a fraction of an inch in length, yet they are believed to be Earth's toughest, hardiest animals. They are virtually indestructible. Tardigrades have the ability to withstand complete dehydration. Once desiccated, they have been frozen in blocks of ice, exposed to...

A naturalist guide for a remote lodge in Alaska recently photographed an incredible sight — close-up views of a beached sperm whale carcass that was being scavenged by brown bears. The images were captured by Karyn Traphagen, a naturalist guide with the nearby Tutka Bay Lodge in the south central...

Hunt Kicks Off for 'Teddy Bear' Marsupial and Other 'Lost' Species

A duck with a pink head, a tree-climbing crab, and a monkey with red thighs are among the targets of a new global hunt for lost species. Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC), an organization based in Austin, Texas, with a focus on biodiversity and wildland preservation, has launched a new initiative...

Facts About the Bear Dog

The bear dog, also called Amphicyon, shared features of bears (heavy-bodied, with feet planted flat on the ground) and dogs (relatively long legs and long snout), but they are neither bears (family Ursidae) nor dogs (family Canidae). They were not specifically in the bear's or dog's scientific families, but they...

Real-Life 'Teddy Bear' Is No Longer Endangered

The real-life inspiration for everyone's favorite plush toy has just gotten a new lease on life. For more than two decades, the Louisiana black bear — the iconic beast that inspired the teddy bear — has been considered a threatened species. But the adorable fuzzy bear will soon be removed...

Unbearable: An Enormously Swollen Tongue Was Destroying a Bear's Life

A rescued bear with a tongue so large it dragged on the ground has a second chance in life after surgery. A University of Edinburgh veterinarian joined bear rescue organizations in Southeast Asia to operate on the Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus). The young bear, nicknamed Nyan htoo, or bright,...

Yellowstone Grizzlies Lose Endangered Status

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem from the Endangered Species List yesterday (June 22). The decision to return the Yellowstone bears to state and tribal management reflected rebounding grizzly numbers in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), a region that encompasses Wyoming, Idaho...

Sex-Reversed Bearded Dragons Lay Eggs, Act Like Males

Bearded dragon babies that are genetically male but have the physical and reproductive traits of females have hatched in a lab in Australia. Personality-wise, these sex-reversed lizards show extra-masculine behaviors, the researchers find. In some kinds of lizards, an individual's sex is determined by sex chromosomes, just as it usually...